winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Weak supports for the mentally ill

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Weak supports for the mentally ill: "Nice theory. It failed.
A report released last week by the Canadian Institute for Health Information produced stats showing not all that much has changed from the old days.
Disturbingly, patients diagnosed with mental illness today account for 30% of all stays in general hospitals.
While only 15% of all patients admitted to hospitals are diagnosed with a mental illness as the primary or secondary problem, their hospitals stays are, on average, more than twice as long as those with other conditions.
Almost four in 10 of these patients (37%) will, after being treated and discharged, be re-admitted to hospital within a year -- well above the 27% rate for other patients.
The cost to society are huge. Eighty-five per cent of people with a mental illness are unemployed. Twenty per cent are addicted to alcohol and/or drugs. And perhaps the greatest tragedy, two-thirds of all people in need of psychiatric treatment never seek it for fear of being stigmatized.
Two things need to change if this revolving-door syndrome is ever to end.
First, we must accept that mental illness is a disease that can strike anyone, not just piously say it.
Second, if we want to end this vicious cycle, politicians must admit that while caring for people in their communities will eventually cost less when they have the proper supports in place, getting there will cost more money not less.
That's because we need to maintain the current hospital system while getting these needed supports in place.
Any competent health minister knows this.
Far too many aren't even talking about it. "